Media

Display all by

Display with the brief description

Maritime Greenwich

Maritime Greenwich

The ensemble of buildings at Greenwich, an outlying district of London, and the park in which they are set, symbolize English artistic and scientific endeavour in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Queen's House (by Inigo Jones) was the first Palladian building in England, while the complex that was until recently the Royal Naval College was designed by Christopher Wren. The park, laid out on the basis of an original design by André Le Nôtre, contains the Old Royal Observatory, the work of Wren and the scientist Robert Hooke.

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

Symmetrically arranged alongside the River Thames, the ensemble of the 17th century Queen’s House, part of the last Royal Palace at Greenwich, the palatial Baroque complex of the Royal Hospital for Seamen, and the Royal Observatory founded in 1675 and surrounded by the Royal Park laid out in the 1660s by André Le Nôtre, reflects two centuries of Royal patronage and represents a high point of the work of the architects Inigo Jones (1573-1652) and Christopher Wren (1632-1723), and more widely European architecture at an important stage in its evolution. It also symbolises English artistic and scientific endeavour in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Greenwich town, which grew up at the gates of the Royal Palace, provides, with its villas and formal stuccoed terraces set around St Alphege’s church rebuilt to Hawksmoor’s designs in 1712-14, a setting and approach for the main ensemble.

Inigo Jones’ Queen’s House was the first Palladian building in Britain, and also the direct inspiration for classical houses and villas all over the country in the two centuries after it was built.

The Royal Hospital, laid out to a master plan developed by Christopher Wren in the late 17th century and built over many decades by him and other leading architects, including Nicholas Hawksmoor, is among the most outstanding group of Baroque buildings in England.

The Royal Park is a masterpiece of the application of symmetrical landscape design to irregular terrain by André Le Nôtre. It is well loved and used by residents as well as visitors to the Observatory, Old Royal Naval College and the Maritime Museum.

The Royal Observatory’s astronomical work, particularly of the scientist Robert Hooke, and John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, permitted the accurate measurement of the earth’s movement and also contributed to the development of global navigation. The Observatory is now the base-line for the world’s time zone system and for the measurement of longitude around the globe.

Criterion (i): The public and private buildings and the Royal Park at Greenwich form an exceptional ensemble that bears witness to human artistic and creative endeavour of the highest quality.

Criterion (ii): Maritime Greenwich bears witness to European architecture at an important stage of its evolution, exemplified by the work of great architects such as Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren who, inspired by developments on the continent of Europe, each shaped the architectural development of subsequent generations, while the Park exemplifies the interaction of people and nature over two centuries.

Criterion (iv): The Palace, Royal Naval College and Royal Park demonstrate the power, patronage and influence of the Crown in the 17th and 18th centuries and its illustration through the ability to plan and integrate culture and nature into a harmonious whole.

Criterion (vi): Greenwich is associated with outstanding architectural and artistic achievements as well as with scientific endeavour of the highest quality through the development of navigation and astronomy at the Royal Observatory, leading to the establishment of the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time as world standards.

Integrity

The boundary of the property encompasses the Old Royal Naval College, the Queen’s House, Observatory, the Royal Park and buildings which fringe it, and the town centre buildings that form the approach to the formal ensemble. All the attributes of Outstanding Universal Value are included within the boundary of the property.

The main threats facing the property are from development pressures within the town that could impact adversely on its urban grain and from tall buildings, in the setting, which may have the potential to impact adversely on its visual integrity.

Authenticity

The ensemble of buildings and landscapes that comprise the property preserve a remarkably high degree of authenticity.

The Old Royal Naval College complex, in particular the Painted Hall and Chapel, retains well its original form, design and materials. The Royal Observatory retains its original machinery and its associations with astronomical work. The management of the Old Royal Naval College as a single entity now allows for coordinated conservation of the buildings and surrounding spaces. The Observatory, Queen’s House and its associated high-quality 19th century buildings are all managed as elements of the National Maritime Museum.

The landscape of the Royal Park retains its planned form and design to a degree with some ancient trees still surviving.

The stuccoed slate roofed terraces of the town that form the approach to the formal buildings and the Park retain their function as a commercial and residential centre. The coherence and conservation of buildings within the town is good, although there is a need for some refurbishment and to repair the urban pattern within the property, where it was disrupted by World War II bombing and subsequent reinstatement.

Protection and management requirements

The UK Government protects World Heritage properties in England in two ways. Firstly, individual buildings, monuments, gardens and landscapes are designated under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and the 1979 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act and secondly through the UK Spatial Planning system under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Acts.

Government guidance on protecting the Historic Environment and World Heritage is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework and Circular 07/09. Policies to protect, promote, conserve and enhance World Heritage properties, their settings and buffer zones can be found in statutory planning documents.

The Mayor’s London Plan provides a strategic social, economic, transport and environmental framework for London and its future development over a period of 20-25 years and is reviewed regularly. It contains policies to protect and enhance the historic environment including World Heritage properties. Further guidance is set out in London’s World Heritage Sites – Guidance on Setting and The London View Management FrameworkSupplementary Planning Guidance which protects important designated views, some of which focus on the property. The London Borough of Greenwich Unitary Development Plan (UDP) contains guidance to protect and promote the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage property which have been saved and will remain in place until the UDP is replaced by the emerging Local Development Framework (LDF). There are also policies to protect the setting of the World Heritage property included in the current statutory plans for the neighbouring London Boroughs of Lewisham and Tower Hamlets.

The property is protected by a variety of statutory designations: the hospital, Queen’s House and observatory buildings are Grade 1 listed buildings ; statues, railings and other buildings are of all grades; and the surrounding residential buildings of Greenwich town centre lie within a Conservation Area. There are a number of scheduled monuments in the Park which is itself a Grade 1 registered park and garden, and elements of the park are considered important for nature conservation.

The Royal Park is owned, managed and administered by The Royal Parks, a Crown agency. The Queen’s House and associated 19th-century buildings and the Royal Observatory is in the custodianship of the Trustees of the National Maritime Museum. The Old Royal Naval College is in the freehold of Greenwich Hospital, which remains a Crown Naval charity. The buildings are leased to the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College, also a registered charity whose objectives are to conserve, maintain and interpret the buildings for the public. The Royal Courts are leased to Greenwich University and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance to form the Maritime Greenwich University Campus. Greenwich Foundation also retains and maintains a number of key buildings. Commercial activities in the town centre are coordinated by a town centre manager.

The management of the property is guided by a Management Plan approved by all the key partners which is regularly reviewed. A World Heritage Coordinator is responsible for development and implementation of the Management Plan and overall coordination for the whole property; this post reports to a World Heritage Executive Committee made up of key owners and managers within the property. A World Heritage Site Steering Group made up of key local stakeholders and national organisations monitors implementation of the Management Plan.

The history, value and significance of the property is now explained to visitors through Discover Greenwich, a recently opened state-of-the-art visitor centre which helps orientate visitors before entering the property.

The Royal Park, like any designed landscape evolving over time, is vulnerable to erosion of detail and its maintenance and conservation form part of a detailed plan that sets out the design history of the Royal Park, and the rationale for its ongoing maintenance and future restoration of the historic landscape, in particular, the way in which avenues and trees are managed and re-planted.

A number of high-profile annual events are held within the Royal Park, some of which have several millions of spectators worldwide. For all events, appropriate safeguards are put in place to ensure there is no adverse impact on the attributes of Outstanding Universal Value, in particular on the Royal Park trees, on underground archaeology or on the surrounding buildings. The events generate worldwide interest in, and publicity for the World Heritage property.

Long Description

Maritime Greenwich is an unique ensemble of buildings and landscape of exceptional artistic value, the work of a number of outstanding architects and designers. At the same time, it is of considerable scientific significance by virtue of the contributions to astronomy and to navigation. The public and private buildings and the Royal Park at Greenwich form an exceptional ensemble bearing witness to human artistic and scientific endeavour of the highest quality, to European architecture at an important stage of British design evolution, and to the creation of a landscape that integrates nature and culture in a harmonious whole.

Prehistoric burial mounds and a large Roman villa (1st-4th centuries AD) have been discovered within the World Heritage site. In the 8th century it was owned by Ethelrada, niece of Alfred the Great. In the 15th century the estate was the property of Duke Humphrey, uncle of Henry VI. The king and his wife, Margaret of Anjou, built the Palace of Placentia, where the Tudor monarchs Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth were all born. James I of England and VI of Scotland settled the palace upon his wife, Anne of Denmark, who in 1616 commissioned the building of the Queen's House from Inigo Jones, Surveyor of the King's Works. During the Interregnum, Parliament used the palace as a biscuit factory, and also kept Dutch prisoners there. Charles II commissioned Andre Le Nôtre to design the park, as well as a new palace from John Webb. In 1675 Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke designed and built the turreted Royal Observatory on the bluff overlooking the old palace for John Flamsteed, first English Astronomer Royal. In 1884 the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time were adopted as world standards for measuring space and time.

Although the departure of the royal court and the rise of dockyard-related industries robbed the town of its fashionable character, it remained prosperous, favoured in particular by sea captains, naval officers, and merchants. Its earlier timber-framed houses were gradually replaced during the 18th and 19th centuries by two- and three-storeyed brick terraces.

The focus of the Greenwich ensemble is the Queen's House, the work of Inigo Jones and the first true Renaissance building in Britain, a striking departure from the architectural forms that preceded it. It was inspired by Italian style, and it was in its turn to be the direct inspiration for classical houses and villas all over Britain in the two centuries that followed its construction. Since 1937 the Queen's House and its associated buildings have housed the National Maritime Museum.

The Royal Naval College, the most outstanding group of Baroque buildings in Britain, is also the most complex of Christopher Wren's architectural projects. The four main components, aligned on the Queen's House, are arranged symmetrically alongside the Thames. Trafalgar Quarters, a colonnaded brick structure, was built in 1813 as living accommodation for the officers of the Royal Hospital. The complex now houses the University of Greenwich.

Greenwich Royal Park is formal in plan, arranged symmetrically on either side of its main north-south axis, which is aligned on the Queen's House. The Old Royal Observatory is sited on the brow of Greenwich Hill and dominates the landscape. Above is an octagonal room which was used by the Royal Society for meetings and dinners. This is surmounted by the famous time-ball, which indicates Greenwich Mean Time daily at 13.00. Adjacent is the former New Physical Observatory (1890-99), which is cruciform in plan and crowned by a terracotta dome.

The area also includes a number of handsome private houses of the 17th-19th centuries: Vanbrugh Castle, the home of Sir John Vanbrugh, the architect of Blenheim Palace; the Ranger's House, built in 1700-20; the Trafalgar Tavern, an elegant building in Regency style, fronting on the Thames. St Alfege's Church is one of the outstanding works of Nicholas Hawksmoor, built in 1711-14 to replace a collapsed medieval structure. Also there is the Cutty Sark, a tea-clipper built in 1869 and the fastest ship in the world at that time. The vessel is berthed in a special dry-dock and maintained as a museum.

Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC

Historical Description

Greenwich has been favoured by humankind since the Bronze Age at least, as demonstrated by the burial mounds and the large 1st-4th century AD Roman villa that have been discovered in the modern Park.

It has long associations with royalty. In the 8th century it was owned by Ethelrada, niece of Alfred the Great. In the 15th century the estate was the property of Duke Humphrey, uncle of Henry VI, and it was first developed as a royal residence when that king and his wife, Margaret of Anjou, built the Palace of Placentia, where the Tudor monarchs Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth were all born. James I of England and VI of Scotland settled the palace upon his wife, Anne of Denmark, who in 1616 commissioned the building of the Queen's House from Inigo Jones, Surveyor of the King's Works. The project was suspended when the queen's health failed the following year (she died in 1618), but Jones resumed work for Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, around 1630. It was completed just before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1640.

During the Interregnum, Parliament used the palace as a biscuit factory, and also kept Dutch prisoners there, so it was in a sadly deteriorated condition when the monarchy was restored. Charles II commissioned Andre Le Notre to design the park (although the eventual layout probably owes more to Sir William Boreman). He also commissioned a new palace from John Webb. Part of Placentia was demolished in 1664 to make way for a wing of the new palace.

With the accession of William II and Mary II as joint monarchs in 1688 the days of Greenwich as a royal residence ended, because its situation was inimical to the king's asthma. However, in 1692 the queen ordered that building of the palace should continue, but in a new form, as a hospital for retired seamen. The master plan was devised by Sir Christopher Wren, assisted by his pupil Nicholas Hawksmoor. The complex took many years to complete, and was to involve the services of other leading architects, including Colen Campbell, Thomas Ripley, James "Athenian" Stuart, and John Yenn.

In 1807 the Queen's House became a school for young seamen, with the addition of long colonnades and wings, the work of Daniel Asher Alexander. During the 17th century study of the role of astronomy in navigation developed rapidly, and in 1675 Wren and the scientist Robert Hooke designed and built the turreted Royal Observatory on the bluff overlooking the old palace for John Flamsteed, the first English Astronomer Royal. Greenwich established its pre-eminence in this field and it was here that in 1884 the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time were adopted as world standards for the measurement of space and time. In the 18th century the little town of Greenwich attracted aristocrats and merchants, who built villas there, some of which survive (the most important is probably the Ranger's House). Although the departure of the royal court and the rise of dockyardrelated industries robbed the town of its fashionable character, it remained prosperous, favoured in particular by sea captains, naval officers, and merchants. Its earlier timber-framed houses were gradually replaced during the 18th and 19th centwies by two- and three-storeyed brick terraces.

Since 1937 the Queens' House and its associated buildings have housed the National Maritime Museum. The Royal Naval College has been located in the former Royal Naval Hospital since 1873. It will. be vacating the buildings during 1997; at the time of writing this evaluation the future tenants have not been decided, but there are strong indications that the buildings will. be shared by the Museum and the new University of Greenwich.